Travelfood

When the ship arrived from Spanish port Algeciras to Tanger on Morocco’s north coast, I had planned to continue my Interrail train trip to the old cultural cities of Fez and Meknes or to the more famous Marrakesh and Casablanca. My visit to Morocco ended in Tanger, though. It might not be fair to make a travel summary about Morocco based on my experiences in Tanger only, but this might nevertheless be informative to travelers.

As soon as I stepped out of the ship, there was a group of young Moroccan men waiting for travelers and they offered tourist guide services to us. It was impossible to pass the group and they demanded an explanation of what each tourist had planned to do in Tanger and Morocco. According to them, it was impossible for tourists to walk alone in Tanger and they said we had to accept their guide services. One of them followed me and said he would guide me to the city for free. I have never met such stubborn service marketers, not even in India. After a while I told him it was OK and that he could show me the best parts of Tanger. Of course he took me to his cousin’s carpet shop and his other cousin’s spices shop and it was not that objectionable although I was not that interested in those kinds of products.  And after a while, I noticed I had bought two small carpets, which I later transported by train through Europe all the way home.

To my surprise the guide suggested we would go to his home to eat couscous prepared by his wife. How could I refuse? It must surely be one of every traveler’s dream to be offered an invitation to a local’s home to eat local food. My guide’s family lived in a typical white-painted multi-storey building and we sat to a low table on colorful cushions to have a most delicious couscous. The small children ran around in the flat just as in any family. We ate and discussed about current matters in a way which made me feel that my visit to the family was not unique. My guide said that unemployment is huge in Morocco and by acting as guides young people maintain their language skills, create contacts to interesting Europe and at the same time they do something sensible instead of walking around doing nothing. After the dinner I asked the guide to take me back to the harbor so that I could take the ferry back to Spain. My guide looked baffled, but did not demand an explanation on why my visit to Morocco was so short. On the way to the port I asked for permission to pay my free guide a normal guide fee and he did not object.

On my return trip back home, I stayed a while in Paris and in the city’s Moroccan city part I had lots of Moroccan specialities. How about a rich harira lentil soup? Or tajine mutton stew? Or bstilla pie, stuffed with pigeon, nuts, egg and sugar filling?

Afterwards I have reflected why my day in Tanger felt so long and heavy. It is a blessing to experience surprising, positive things on a trip and a local contact is certainly something you might turn into something positive. My Interrail trip was in a stage when it felt unbearable having to be alert all the time and constantly having to refuse all kinds of service marketers.  The heavy reception in Tanger harbor felt as a pre-taste of what the rest of Morocco would be like, although many experienced travelers have afterwards told me that the hustle in Tanger is in a league of its own. I would advice travelers interested in Morocco to avoid Tanger and instead try to reach the more interesting cities or the Atlas mountains, where the Moroccan hospitality is different than in Tanger.

Africa, food, Morocco, travel, travel experiences